Reckoning (18 Nov. 2001)

As Sydney tries to adjust herself after the death of five CIA agents during the last mission in Badenweiler, she and Dixon are sent to London to snatch a FTL decoder so SD-6 can use by a ... See full summary »

Director:

Daniel Attias

Writers:

J.J. Abrams (creator), Jesse Alexander

Stars:

Jennifer Garner, Ron Rifkin, Michael Vartan

Cast

Episode cast overview, first billed only:
Jennifer Garner	...	Sydney Bristow
Ron Rifkin	...	Arvin Sloane
Michael Vartan	...	Michael Vaughn
Bradley Cooper	...	Will Tippin
Merrin Dungey	...	Francie Calfo
Carl Lumbly	...	Marcus Dixon
Kevin Weisman	...	Marshall Flinkman
Victor Garber	...	Jack Bristow
John Hannah	...	Martin Shepard
Nancy Dussault	...	Helen Calder
Evan Parke	...	Charlie Bernard (as Evan Dexter Parke)
Lori Heuring	...	Eloise Kurtz
Evgeniy Lazarev	...	Dr. Kreshnik (as Eugene Lazarev)
Sarah Shahi	...	Jenny
Maurice Godin	...	SD-6 Agent Fisher

Storyline

As Sydney tries to adjust herself after the death of five CIA agents during the last mission in Badenweiler, she and Dixon are sent to London to snatch a FTL decoder so SD-6 can use by a cell sample from someone's DNA to create a code on identity cards. Sydney then goes to Romania to try to talk to the father of a murdered agent, not realizing the horror that awaits her. Jack gets transfered to the SD-6 offices to take a major role in the ops mission. Meanwhile, Will continues to investigate the mysterious Kate Jones, whose real name is Eloise Kurtz, who refuses to tell Will of her association with Danny. Francine continues to deal with her boyfriend Charlie who finally clears the air over his mystery woman, that he plays in a band with her.

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Plot Keywords:

heroine

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Genres:

Action | Crime | Drama | Mystery | Thriller

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Details

Language:

English

Release Date:

18 November 2001 (USA)

Filming Locations:

Stage 4, Walt Disney Studios, 500 South Buena Vista Street, Burbank, California, US

Company Credits

Production Co:

Bad Robot, Touchstone Television

Technical Specs

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The song playing during the funeral part has the same melody as the choir sung version of the Finlandia-hymn composed by the Finnish composer Jean Sibelius. This hymn is one of the most important songs embodying the spirit of independent Finland, and rivals the country's national anthem in importance.

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Goofs

Eloise Kurtz says over the phone her car is not working to Will Tippin. Will then says he knows of a great mechanic if it would help her out. They then set up a time to meet in person at her place without Will giving her information on the mechanic. When Will goes to her place to talk to her at the specified time though her place is cleaned out and there is no trace of her. In a following episode though his mechanic friend calls Will to tell him his "friend" dropped off her car, but has never came back to pick it up. He never gave her any information on any mechanic. This plot hole allows for a set up for a main part of the entire series.

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Quotes

Sydney Bristow: What about the file - the one you pulled for me? There were pages missing. Maybe it didn't end twenty years ago. Maybe he's still working for Russia!
Michael Vaughn: Stop. Okay? Stop. What matters, what "is" important, is taking down SD-6. Jack - your father - is helping us do that!

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Soundtracks

"Have a Little Faith In Me"
(uncredited)
Written by John Hiatt
Performed by Evan Parke

User Reviews

An intense episode

After the explosion at the end of the last episode that killed four CIA operatives Sydney is understandably distressed and freezes; luckily Dixon accepts her story about having a flashback about Danny's death. Once back she goes to visit the widow of the FBI agent who had been investigating his father and makes a shocking discovery; he had died in the same car crash that killed her mother. Believing this means that her mother died because of her father's betrayal of his country she confronts him and threatens to expose him; he tries to explain that wasn't the case but when asked for the truth says that she isn't cleared to hear it. Her main mission this time is to retrieve a DNA reader from London then in a much more dangerous mission go to Bucharest to get information from a man who is locked up in a psychiatric hospital. Away from Sydney's mission Will's investigation continues to get more interesting; he manages to track down 'Kate Jones'; who is really called Eloise Kurtz, but their first meeting ends with him getting a face full of pepper spray and when she changes her mind and agrees to meet again she has vanished by the time he gets to her flat.

This episode didn't have the level of action some feature but it was still pretty good and the scenes at the end were some of the most intense of the series so far; when Sydney realised she was trapped in the hospital without backup she looked genuinely lost. There were also a couple of fairly emotional scenes; when Vaughn reveals to Sydney that his father died working for the CIA and when he attends the funeral of the agents killed in Germany. It isn't all doom and gloom though there are some laughs to be had when Dixon lights up an obnoxious cigar in the middle of a fancy London art gallery; Carl Lumbly was great in this scene. The acting from all the regulars was impressive as was that from guest star John Hannah who gave an intense performance despite only being on screen for a short while.